California ban on open carry signed into law

Posted by David Hardy · 10 October 2011 09:45 AM

Jerry Brown yesterday AB 144 into law. The statute bans open carry of unloaded handguns. (Previously you could carry openly, only if it was unloaded).

The one good thing is that this puts the challenges to California's "may issue" CCW permit system in a solid position. Previously the licensing authorities could and did argue that their permits only limited one form of carry, you could carry open and unloaded without a permit. Not any more. Now the only way to carry is to convince the licensing authority to allow it, in their own discretion.

...I remember a Brown campaign shill puffing up Jerry as a gunrights Democrat in this forum during his campaign for governor. Turns out it was a lie, as he is a gungrabber and Statist as are almost all other Democrats.

What makes a "gunrights Democrat" is a matter of opinion and debate. Many dems will sort of kinda support your right to keep arms, well, some arms, but claim the right to actually bear arms is an extreme position. Or that so called "assault weapons" are extreme. Or small "Saturday night specials" are extreme.

Unless a politician of any stripe fully and without qualification strongly supports all our rights, I don't consider them a supporter of gun rights.

Governor Brown could announce that anyone who passes all the criteria for issuance of a CCW permit except for showing "good cause" will receive a full pardon for unlawful CCW.

Short of that, he did the most any California Governor reasonably can do to turn our state in to a "Shall Issue" state. Now, instead of wearing a valuable theft target openly, Californians can resume their challenge to the as-applied may issue scheme.

Hold on - before and after this law takes effect, it is lawful to open carry loaded and unloaded handguns in unincorporated terretories where teh county has not banned ALL shooting.

There are also somthing like 22 exceptions to teh open carry restrictions in incorporated areas, and of course everyone will still be able to carry long guns to starbucks from San Francisco to San Diego

Its lawful to carry fully loaded long guns here in RI as well, as long as you're on foot. I have always thought it would be fun, although counterproductive, to have a march of armed people up South Main St, past the AG's office and on to the State House on Smith Hill...